V-trough grader



July 15, 1969 K. M. ALLEN ET AL 3,455,445

V-TROUGH GRADER Filed'Feb. 1, 1966 FIG. 2

FIG.

KENNETH M. ALLEN CHESTER H. HARPER BY INVENTORS "4J5 FIG. 4

v BUCK/405W, BLORE, KLAROU/ST 8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,455,445 V-TROUGH GRADER Kenneth M. Allen and Chester H. Harper, both of PD. Box 352, Newberg, Oreg. 97132 Filed Feb. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 535,273 Int. Cl. B07b 13/04; B07c /06 US. Cl. 20985 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a V-trough grader, and particularly to a grader adapted for sorting articles of varying sizes without producing blinding or restriction of grader openings.

Particle sorters usually comprise a multiplicity of regular slots, slits, or openings through which particles less than a predetermined size are to pass while larger articles are separated therefrom. A screen or mesh is a good example of this type of grader. Unfortunately, while such means are effective in sorting large particles from small particles, the openings therein tend to become clogged or blinded with intermediate size particles, materially reducing the effective use of such a device. The sorting problem is rendered more difficult in the case of irregularly shaped articles or articles which change in shape from one portion thereon to another. Such articles are apt to become caught and clogged in an ordinary grading device or to pass through such a device without becoming graded or sorted.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a grader for positively grading articles and especially semi-rigid articles without becoming clogged or blinded by articles of intermediate size.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved grader for linear articles or rigid or semirigid articles having a predominant orientation wherein said articles are positively separated from one another according to size without clogging the grading device.

Briefly, in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention, a grader comprises a V-shaped trough along which linear articles pass in a direction longitudinal to the trough. This trough includes substantially planar intersecting sidewalls wherein the area of the sidewalls varies along the length of the trough according to apertures located therealong. These apertures are of such dimension as to pass articles less than a predetermined size by a tilting action wherein such an article less than a predetermined size positively tilts out of the trough when it just ceases to reach such predetermined size, for example, when it ceases to reach the top of the aperture. Larger articles on the other hand, pass along the trough at least to another portion of the aperture without blinding any portion of the aperture even though such articles are what might be described as intermediate in size.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned apertures comprise openings spaced along one or more of the sidewalls, such apertures having a top edge spaced above the apex of "ice the trough such that articles not reaching the top edge of the opening will tilt through the opening and out of the trough. However, articles which at least just reach the top edge of the opening will pass along the trough without clogging.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an aperture in the trough starts at a given point on the trough apex and widens along the trough opening up the bottom thereof such that articles up to a given size tilt longitudinally downward therethrough while larger articles are guided along the trough by the sidewalls thereof and do not pass through the aperture. In accordance with a variation of this embodiment, the widening aperture continues to widen after a given point is reached such that the larger articles are discharged at a point beyond that at which the smaller articles are discharged. Again no clogging or blinding of the grader apparatus results.

The subject matter which we regard as our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation together with further advantages and objects thereof, may best be understood by a reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of a grader according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side cross section of the FIG. 1 grader;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section of the FIG. 1 grader;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a second embodiment of a grader according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side cross section of the FIG. 4 grader;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a third embodiment of a grader according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side cross section of the FIG. 6 grader, and

FIG. 8 is a front or lower end view of the FIG. 6 grader.

Referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3, a grader in accordance with the present invention comprises a V-trough including a first planar sidewall 10 and a second planar sidewall 12 intersecting at apex 14. Each of the sidewalls slant downwardly toward the apex making an angle of approximately with each other. The sidewalls are provided with slightly elongated apertures 16 and 18 which are suitably spaced just above the apex 14 of the trough with their longer dimension disposed along the trough. Here, aperture 16 is illustrated as having a length,

L, along the direction of the trough and a straight top edge 1 at a uniform distance, H, from apex 14'. The grader is preferably, although not necessarily, inclined at an angle of approximately 20 with respect to the horizontal as illustrated in FIG. 2 and substantially linear flat articles 19 pass down the incline. The trough is suitably one of a plurality of such trough as illustrated in FIG. 3 wherein a second trough comprises planar sidewalls 10 and 12' intersecting at apex 14'. The grader including such troughs is suitably vibrated in a direction longitudinally thereof, that is, in a direction along apex 14, by employing conventional vibrating means (not shown). The V-trough grader according to the present invention acts to sort or grade substantially linear articles, that is, substantially rigid articles having some appreciable linear extent. For example, the grader may be employed in sorting beans or linoleum chips. Such articles may not be materially elongated, but should be to some extent capable of longitudinal orientation along the grader trough.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a grading operation more clearly. In FIG. 2, an oversized linoleum chip 19 passing down the grader trough is too large for aperture 16 and therefore passes on by without blinding or becoming engaged in the aperture 16. However, a linoleum chip 19' having a height less than H, the distance of the top edge of aperture 16' from apex 14, will tilt through the aperture 16 as shown in FIG. 3, so long as the chip has a dimension along the trough somewhat less than L so that such chip will clear the rounded edges of aperture. Thus, chips of width less than a predetermined dimension tip laterally through the aperture in the sidewall, while larger chips continue regularly along the trough as directed by the sidewalls thereof substantially as though the aperture were not present.

Apertures 16 and 18 located in sidewalls 10 and 12 respectively, are desirably staggered along the trough to allow lateral tilting of articles on each side of the trough without interfering with one another. That is the apertures on the two sidewalls do not face one another.

A second embodiment according to the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. Here a trough comprises substantially planar sidewalls 22 and 24 intersecting at apex 26. Sidewalls 22 and 24 are inclined down- Wardly toward the apex 26 and make an angle at approximately 90 with respect to one another. The trough is provided with an aperture 28 extending from a first point 30 on the apex of the trough in the direction of flow of material therein. The aperture 28 widens as it proceeds away from point 30 so that it has an increasing extent up the respective sidewalls shortening or cutting away the bottom of the trough. The aperture 28 continues to a second point 32 where the troughs sidewalls resume.

The grading action of this embodiment is illustrated in FIG. wherein substantially linear articles 34 and 36 pass along the trough in the right to left direction. Articles 34 and 36 may comprise french fried potatoes or string beans, for example. In the case of french fried potatoes, it is desired to separate full sized french fries 34 from slivers 36. Alternatively, article 34 may comprise a full size string bean with article 36 representing the bean tip or piece. As these articles proceed along the trough, the smaller article 36 tilts longitudinally through the aperture 28 and passes through the aperture for separation from the larger articles. The larger article, however, continues along the trough as directed by the sidewall thereof without becoming engaged in or binding the aperture.

Again, the trough grader as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is desirably inclined at approximately 20 with respect to the horizontal as illustrated in the FIG. 5 cross section. The complete grader may suitably comprise a plurality of troughs horizontally secured to one another and means may be further provided to vibrate the grader in a direction longitudinal of the troughs.

Although only one aperture, 28, is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, it is appreciated that a plurality of such apertures are suitably disposed along the length of the trough. Moreover, although the aperture is illustrated as extending up both sidewalls 22 and 24 of the trough and although such construction is preferable, the aperture may extend up only one sidewall if desired.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention similar to that depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5 and in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, similar components are referred with like reference numbers. In this embodiment, rather than the aperture 28 entirely concluding at a given point for passing only articles smaller than a predetermined size, the aperture is further widened defining an opening for discharging larger articles in an area of the trough separated from that wherein smaller articles are discharge. This opening is referred to by reference numeral 38 as can be seen in the FIG. 7 cross section. Smaller article 26 passes through aperture 28 into a first hopper designated at 40, while the larger article 34 is discharged through opening region 38 into a hopper designated 42.

A separator 44, adjustable on a horizontal pivot 46 between the two hoppers underneath and transverse to the trough, aids in separating articles passing into the two hoppers. This separator 44 is desirably inclined slightly with respect to the vertical in a direction towards aperture 28, where the smaller articles are being discharged, and acts to aid tipping an article such as 36 in its passage into the hopper 40. It should be noted that the top of separator 44 is spaced from the sidewalls 22 and 24 of the trough as illustrated in FIG. 8 so the larger articles will not be engaged thereby before passage through opening 38 into hopper 42.

It will be noted that smaller articles tilt longitudinally through an initial aperture leaving the mainstream of larger articles to continue regularly along the trough as guided by the sidewalls and substantially without becoming engaged or blinding the grader. The larger articles passing down the trough readily discharge through opening 38 as the sidewalls are farther apart. If desired, the trough may be concluded at 41 or the opening widened such that no sidewalls remain.

As in the previous embodiment, the trough is desirably inclined and several troughs are preferably joined together, providing a larger grader surface. Furthermore, conventional vibrator means may be employed to oscillate the trough in .a longitudinal direction for causing the movement of particles therealong in the direction indicated.

In each of the embodiments of the present invention, it is seen that the area of the sidewalls of the trough vary along the length thereof inasmuch as apertures are provided in these sidewalls. Even though the area of these sidewalls thus varies, both in the case of elongated aperture 16 and 18, and in the case of widening aperture 28, the sidewalls are still effective to guide articles larger than a predetermined dimension along the trough formed by the sidewalls in a manner such that the larger articles d not become engaged in an aperture or blind the same. Only when the size of the particle is smaller than predetermined dimension does such article tilt over into the aperture and leave the trough. In case of elongated apertures 16 and 18, the smaller articles tilt sideways out of the trough as the top edge thereof fails to reach the top edge of the apertures. In the case of Widening aperture 28, the smaller articles tilt out of the trough longitudinally. In either case, the tilting action is positive, eliminating blinding of the grader.

Although we have shown and described several embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from our invention in its broader aspects.

We claim:

1. A grader for sorting substantially rigid, linear articles comprising a V-shaped trough along which said linear articles pass in a longitudinal direction,

said V-shaped trough including a pair of substantially planar intersecting sidewalls for aligning said linear articles in a direction along said trough,

said trough having a widening aperture extending therealong in at least one of said sidewalls from a given first point on said trough at the apex of the trough, the area of the said one of said sidewalls decreasing as said aperture extends along the trough from said point, such that articles less than a predetermined dimension tip longitudinally through said aperture before said articles reach a second point on said trough where the distance between the said one of said sidewalls and the apex of the trough has increased to a predetermined extent, while articles larger than a predetermined dimension continue longitudinally along said trough past said second point as guided by said sidewalls.

2. A grader according to claim 1 including a plurality of such apertures extending in both sidewalls of said trough.

3. The grader according to claim 1 wherein said aperture continues from said first point to the end of said trough providing an outlet for articles of largest size at the end of said trough.

4. The grader according to claim 3 further including an adjustable separator disposed across and underneath said trough for directing articles as tilt through said aperture toward a first destination while larger articles pass along said trough and over said separator to a second destination.

5. The grader according to claim 4 further including a horizontal pivot underneath said trough extending in a direction perpendicular to the direction of said trough and upon which said separator is adjustably pivoted,

said separator extending upwardly from said horizontal pivot toward said trough for directing articles passing through said aperture to either side of said separator.

6. The grader according to claim 5 wherein the uppermost portion of the separator is spaced from the trough so that larger articles passing along said trough are not engaged by said separator.

7. A grader for sorting substantially linear articles comprising a V-shaped trough along which said linear articles pass in a longitudinal direction,

said V-shaped trough including a pair of substantially planar intersecting sidewalls providing a sidewall area,

said trough having an aperture extending therealong and positioned in at least one of said sidewalls and varying said sidewall area along the length of the trough,

said aperture extending longitudinally along the apex of said trough from a given point thereon and widening, while the width of at least one of said sidewalls decreases, as said aperture extends along the trough from said point,

said aperture extending to a second point along said trough and further widening beyond said second point providing an outlet for articles greater than a predetermined dimension, articles smaller than a predetermined dimension tipping longitudinally through said aperture substantially before said second point,

and a vertically adjustable separator disposed across and underneath said trough substantially proximate said second point for adjustably directing articles tilting through said aperture toward a first destination While larger articles pass along said trough and over said separator to a second destination,

said separator being adjustably inclined to the tilting orientation of articles passing to said first destination.

8. A grader for sorting substantially rigid, linear articles comprising a V-shaped trough along which said linear articles pass in a longitudinal direction,

said V-shaped trough including a pair of substantially lanar intersecting sidewalls for aligning said articles, and providing a sidewall area,

said trough having a plurality of apertures, each aperture comprising an elongated opening in one of said sidewalls spaced above the intersection of said sidewalls and having a predetermined length along the direction of said trough for sorting said linear articles according to length, an aperture having a predetermined width up one of said sidewalls so that articles tip laterally through said aperture if they do not reach the top of said aperture along the sidewall, while articles of larger dimension continue regularly along the trough in contact with the sidewalls without blinding an aperture,

both said sidewalls being provided with such apertures,

said apertures being staggered along the trough so that apertures on the two sidewalls do not face one another.

References Cited UNITED, STATES PATENTS 2,908,389 10/1959 Lauer 209-99 3,135,270 6/1964 Arnold 209 X 3,251,466 5/ 1966 Fleishman 20999 FOREIGN PATENTS 814,959 9/1951 Germany.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner R. A. SHACHER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 209-97 

